NEW YORK – AAA has asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce the amount of ethanol required to be blended into gasoline in 2014, the Wall Street Journal reports.

AAA President Bob Darbelnet said the ethanol requirement will increase gas prices and force consumers to use potentially dangerous ethanol blends.

“The EPA should lower ethanol targets immediately,” Darbelnet said.

In response, the Renewable Fuels Associated on Monday said the AAA had become a “puppet of Big Oil.”

The EPA is expected to release its 2014 renewable fuels mandate soon. In 2007, Congress passed a law that requires renewable fuels in 2014 to be 18.1 billion gallons. However, oil companies and refiners have said it is a standard that will be impossible to meet.

Refiners say the mandate has reached a “blend wall,” which makes it physically impossible to blend any more ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply.

Refiners say the congressional mandate has run up against a “blend wall,” which they say makes it physically impossible to blend any more ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply.

According to a draft copy of the 2014 standard that was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, the EPA may propose a standard of 15.2 billion, roughly 16% below the law’s mandate.

Ethanol producers maintain the existing requirement could be met if the use of E15 became more widespread. They accuse ethanol opponents of exaggerating the risk of the higher E15 blend.

“If Big Oil–and AAA–would stop obstructing consumer choice, American drivers could have access to a choice of higher level ethanol blends that are less expensive, yet higher in octane,” Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen said.